//------------------------------//
// Interlude: Moving Out 
// Story: Ratchet and Clank: Family of Heroes 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

What Brooke discovered was that nothing truly important happened for about four years, not counting the times when Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn said their first words, when they walked without actually falling or needing assistance, or the day when they started talking in fuller sentences, which gave the siblings time to learn all sorts of things, or at least try to do such a thing since the colony did come under assault at one point and they ended up losing most of the Helper Bots that worked for the orphanage. There was only so much Brooke and her fellow leaders could do when pirates came calling, no doubt looking for scrap or treasure to take for all the Bolts they were worth, the currency of their galaxy, especially once the Captain went down and the Mining Director was torn apart, as he ended up losing his right arm, his left leg had been broken, part of his chest had been caved in, and he also had some damage to his head, hence why they had to take him offline while he was fixed, just to preserve him before something bad happened. Brooke was used to dealing with pirate attacks, even if they were annoying and really damaged the colony, especially with some of the buildings being damaged in the assault and a fair number of the adults being harmed as well, though her real concern was for the children, all of them, since there was no telling if these pirates would kidnap children and hold them for ransom, which would force their Investor to either fold his hand and pay the bounty or do nothing and possibly sentence them to a life of slavery. That was why Brooke did her best to stand her ground in front of the orphanage, as she refused to let any of the children be taken and have their lives utterly ruined by pirates, even if she ended up with blast markings on her arms and legs, from the blasters the pirates used, or the couple of cuts that came from the blades that some of the melee pirates preferred to use while their allies backed them up, but she ignored her wounds as she focused on protecting all of the children.

When she fell to her knees, however, something moved by her as the pirates that were advancing on the orphanage were knocked back by a sudden gust of wind, or many they were yanked backwards, as Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn walked out to meet the pirates in battle, something she was totally against and paused when she noticed something interesting, Starswirl's horn had a faint glow around it and his hand was extended towards the three pirates that had been advancing on where Brooke was standing. That reminded her that Starswirl and Autumn had access to magic, something they must have been practicing in secret since she had no idea their abilities had improved since the first time she saw them lift that book, though as that happened Autumn's horn glowed as small balls of fire, which were roughly the size of her fist, formed around her while all of them stared at the pirates, all while Ratchet found a pipe that had been left on the ground and just picked it up, as while he didn't have magical abilities he showed the others that he was ready for a fight. The pirates were surprised by this turn of events, especially since they weren't expecting to find children standing up to them, though that was when Autumn knocked the robotic pirates backwards with her fireballs, who freaked out and retreated to their ships, as if they were afraid of melting or something, while Starswirl threw his hand backwards and sent his targets flying even further backwards, all the way to their ship so they landed on the deck. While his siblings did that Ratchet showed them all how a Lombax who was following his instincts fought, as he spun his pipe around like it was a staff or something, like what he and his siblings discovered in some of the stories they had read over the years, while using his feline grace to move like a warrior, or at least that was what Brooke assumed she was seeing right now, allowing him to figure out where their foes were and smack them with the edge of his makeshift weapon, knocking the pirates to the ground in confusion, which put a smile on Brooke's face as their uninvited guests were pushed back by three children.

Of course there was a consequence of this unwelcome event, one that she saw when she glanced back at the orphanage that the rest of their colony's children had been hiding in while their parents joined the fight against the pirates, as it was easy for her to see that the others were afraid of Ratchet and his siblings, especially since Starswirl picked up one of the shards of a pirate ship and sent it flying into the main ship, doing enough damage to knock it back while not taking it out, all with his magic, and she knew that once this was all over she was going to have to make a hard decision, even if she had no desire to do such a thing.

Sure enough once the pirates were taken care of, as Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn actually pushed the pirates back with their abilities, even with Ratchet's pipe being dented to the point of not being usable at all, the parents came to Brooke not a few minutes after the battle was over with some concerns, with how their children might not be safe due to the danger that the Blaze Siblings posed to everyone in the colony, especially when one took the powers of Starswirl and Autumn into consideration as well. Brooke, of course, argued that they were in their debt, for without the siblings she was sure that the pirates would have done far more damage to their home, maybe even reaching the point where they stole the children to sell at some point in the future, and that exiling them to Kyzil Plateau, the outskirts of their colony, seemed far too much for the three six year olds, especially after risking their lives to save her own and keep all of the other children safe, as she was sure that this might sour their opinions on performing heroic deeds. Of course only a few agreed with her thoughts on this manner, as they agreed that the siblings had saved them from something truly terrible, though the majority vote, as Brooke soon discovered, was not to exile Ratchet and his siblings, rather they were going to be moved out to the shed on Kyzil Plateau, where Ratchet's pod was resting since none of them felt like moving it, that way their children could be safe while making sure to keep the siblings away from the main section of the colony. Sure, she felt like they were simply exiling them while not acknowledging that they were doing that, but with most of the people voting for it there was next to nothing she could do to stop it from happening, so it was with a heavy heart that she approved of their actions and, with all of her wounds patched up, marched out to escort the siblings to their new home, even if they hated her for it, but there was one thing she took with her since it was time to return it.

Brooke found Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn standing outside the orphanage once the meeting was over, where it looked like all three of them had known that their display had upset some of the colonists and had prepared themselves for the event that they were exiled, though it was possible that they had seen what was on the faces of the other children and had known this was coming their way, so they had their meager belongings resting in a box that Autumn was carrying, where she sighed for a moment as all four of them started to leave the orphanage.

"Did we do something wrong? Is that why everyone is so wary of us?" Starswirl asked, reminding Brooke that he was, in the eyes of her and the other adults, the older sibling among the trio, as he seemed to be smarter than the others, while they knew that Autumn was the youngest of them all, as while she had been serious in battle she was also naive at times, or at least she acted like that, which left Ratchet as the middle child, who seemed to be interested in trying his hand at messing with devices, like a normal Lombax she assumed.

"Don't be mad at the colonists, they're only worried about their children... if I weren't outnumbered, I would have made it so this wouldn't be happening at all," Brooke replied, though she could see that all three of them seemed to be upset with something, no doubt what happened back at the orphanage, to which she turned her head towards the path that would bring them to Kyzil Plateau, "For now we've agreed that none of you are to be exiled from the colony, as you did save us from those pirates, but the others would feel safer knowing that their children aren't in danger of being hit by your magic, Autumn's magic, or by whatever weapon Ratchet uses if he gets upset with someone... so Kyzil Plateau, where we found you guys four years ago, will be your home for now, though hopefully I can convince the others to cancel this decision in due time."

"I can't believe that Billy and the others looked at us like we were complete strangers," Ratchet commented, referring to what he and his siblings had found when they returned to the orphanage after the pirates had been taken care of, that all of the other children had seemed fearful of him, Starswirl, and Autumn and he had to guess that the sudden showing of what they were capable of had caused the children to rethink how they viewed the three of them, which caused him to growl for a moment as he felt his anger boil.

"They probably didn't understand what you did for them, and I'm sure they'll be by to apologize once everyone has taken some time to calm down," Brooke stated, though to be fair she really had no idea if that was the truth or not, since some of the other children might take after their parents, which could be a bad thing at times, but before she could say anything else they came to a stop at the edge of the walkway that was connected to Kyzil Plateau and she stared at the shed that the siblings would be living in for some time, though as Starswirl and Autumn started to move forward she made sure to stop Ratchet for a few seconds, "Ratchet, I've been holding onto this since the day we found you three in this area, as I had a feeling that it might be important and I didn't want it to be stolen by someone, and I think it's time that it was returned to you."

Ratchet paused for a few seconds as Brooke reached into her pocket and pulled out a necklace, one that had a flat orb at the end of it, an orb that was half the size of her palm based on what he was seeing, with the orb split diagonally in half as well, though it seemed to be made out of some durable metal or material, since it looked pristine and hadn't aged at all in the four years they had been living in the orphanage, and as he took it from her he studied it, finding that the necklace and design seemed to be perfect with no errors, making him wonder what purpose it served.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what that is, besides a necklace, but it was resting next to you in your pod, so it has to be of some importance to you," Brooke continued, as she knew why Ratchet seemed shocked and surprised by this item, because it had been a shock to her as well and had caused her to take it so she could study it, but her limited knowledge of Lombax technology gave her no ideas on what it might be and she had given up on trying to figure out it's secrets after the first year, "maybe it's a charm, to help you calm down or center yourself, or maybe it might be a key to something and you need to find the other half first... whatever purpose it serves, I'm sure that you'll find out what it is in due time."

Ratchet nodded for a moment as he slipped the necklace over his head, allowing the fractured orb to rest near his neck, though once that was done Brooke wished all three of them well, promising that food would be brought twice a week so they didn't starve, before she turned and left them to do whatever they wanted to do, though while Ratchet was still mad at the colonists he found that the Mayor was sad, to which he focused on the necklace for a few seconds and found that it allowed him to calm down. With that done, and he made sure that his new treasure was secured, Ratchet joined Starswirl and Autumn in studying their new home so they could figure out what they were going to do now that they weren't under the care of the colonists and surviving Helper Bots, where they found that three beds, large enough for all three of them to grow into, were resting in the middle of what looked like an old hanger, which had been turned into a storage shed by the colonists at some point, so having the three of them move out here meant the colonists had to clear out whatever had been in this place. While they did that, however, Ratchet found the pod that Brooke had described to him and both of his siblings a few times in the past, one that looked nothing like what was found on Veldin, and, surprisingly enough, both of the smaller containers, which Starswirl and Autumn had arrived in, were near it as well and made him wonder how they had reached this world in the first place, before he sighed as he ran his hand over the side of the pod, which offered him no answers at the moment. The only thing it made him wonder about was why it was built for two individuals, like he had another sibling who was missing at the moment, and he found the inscription that held his name, according to what they were told in the past, though as he did that part of the pod's exterior shuddered and a compartment opened, revealing a large wrench that looked like it was designed for both combat and as a tool, something he assumed was unique to the Lombaxes as he picked the wrench up and held it in his right hand.

"Is that... an Omniwrench?" Autumn asked, as she had read stories and heard tales of the types of weapons that the rest of the Lombaxes were said to have used while they fought their enemies, even if there was no way for anyone to confirm or deny such a thing since no one knew what had happened to Ratchet's race, and many agreed that this type of weapon was one that the Lombaxes used, or one of them anyway.

"Yeah... I guess my parents, or whoever was watching over me, wanted me to be able to defend myself," Ratchet said, as it seemed like the most reasonable explanation for why there was a weapon in the pod he had arrived in all those years ago, all while determining that the pod only responded to his kind, hence why the Mayor and the others failed to get anything out of it after they were admitted to the orphanage, though as he considered that he turned and swung the wrench a few times, finding that it almost seemed like it was made for him, before he stopped and glanced at the pod, "or maybe keep myself and my sibling safe... I wonder what happened to them, to prevent us from arriving on Veldin together."

"We'll figure it out in due time, of that I'm sure," Starswirl replied, though to be honest he had no clues on how to help his brother right now, since the pod didn't come with anything that might help them figure out what might have happened to the other Lombax that was supposed to be contained inside it, save for the writing on the side that had been damaged by some sort of attack, so all he could assume about this was that Ratchet's sibling had been forced to take another pod and was out there, somewhere, "Come on, let's get everything set up so we can call this place home."

Ratchet and Autumn nodded as they took their meager belongings into the hanger and stared at it for a few moments, as they all knew that they would have to divide what was in front of them so each of them had a sleeping area, leaving what was left as a living area of sorts, though Ratchet took the wall to the left of the entrance and figured that Starswirl could be placed on the same side that he was taking, leaving Autumn to take the other side, or part of it, leaving the area that was across from Starswirl for their appliances, which the Mayor had provided for them. His siblings considered that and came to the decision that it was the best, especially since they had some screens that would shield them from the eyes of the others, for some privacy, something that would be perfect for when they grew up and became teenagers, though Ratchet put his poster of Captain Qwark up in the common area, Autumn pulled out her schematics and put them away in a small container in her chamber, and Starswirl set a few books up in his area. It wasn't much in Ratchet's eyes, not when he took a moment to consider everything that the orphans had, but it was better than nothing, to which he sighed as he pulled out a few food containers and slipped them into their fridge before breaking the box down in seconds, as the Helper Bot had given them some food to make sure all three of them had something until their first shipment arrived from the colony, in a few days time. As he thought about that he walked outside as Starswirl lifted all three beds and moved them into position as Autumn set up the privacy screens, where Ratchet glanced at the stars for a moment as he wondered how the three of them were going to live with next to nothing to do, especially after losing access to the Helper Bots and the colony itself, as he was sure some people would have a problem with them being there, before he grasped his necklace for a time, all for a bit of courage to make it through whatever the future held for them.

Nothing happened that evening and the siblings went to bed with what was considered a light meal, as they had to ration what they had and make sure they had enough food to last them until the next shipment arrived from Mayor Brooke, who seemed to be the only one who actually trusted them enough to want to keep them in the colony, though when morning arrived he and his siblings discovered something terrible, a horde of Horny Toads were advancing on the farms, using one of the holes that had been left behind by the pirate's attack.

In response to such a thing happening Ratchet grabbed his new wrench and headed outside, though as he moved towards the entrance, however, Starswirl stepped up and stopped him for a few seconds, where he held a hand out and Ratchet quickly figured out what his brother was doing as he handed over the weapon, as Starswirl's horn glowed for a moment as the wrench pulsed with energy before two new copies appeared, though one had a flame design on it, which he passed to Autumn, while the other had a swirling star, one that Starswirl took as he returned the ordinary one to Ratchet, who wasn't even upset since this allowed them to figure out whose each was. With that done he and his siblings head out and quickly made their way to where the farms were located, where it took them no time to locate the horde of orange skinned toads who stood on two legs and hopped around, using their front legs to balance themselves, though they were aggressive little things and seemed to enjoy doing anything and everything to mess with the colonists, as this was one of the problems that the warriors of the colony dealt with on a daily bases. Since most of the adults were hurt from the pirate invasion, and the rest were still recovering from what had happened so far, there weren't a lot of people left who could do anything to save everything that the farmers had worked for, especially since Horny Toads, so named due to the horns on their backs, also liked to eat everything that was grown on this planet, hence why they targeted the farms, but due to the lack of protectors Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn moved in and did everything in their power to protect the colony. As such Ratchet jumped around and dodged attacks, where Starswirl discovered that Lombaxes had a double jump of sorts, like they could do one and then kick off the air or something to perform a second one, which was rather interesting, though he turned his eyes back to the Horny Toads as Ratchet used his wrench to smack several foes out of the way, which Autumn replicated with her own tool, causing Starswirl to nod, since using fire magic wasn't a good idea right now, before he used his magic to pull several foes towards him before knocking them out with his own weapon.

Brooke and the others watched as Ratchet and his siblings came to their rescue, even though they had thrown them out after what happened with the pirates, though as that happened she recalled what was supposed to happen today as one of the Gadgetron ships neared her colony and the spokesperson for the company, who sold all sorts of weapons and a variety of gadgets, came out of the vehicle to speak with them about an offer that her Investor seemed eager to accept, all to keep the colony safe from future danger. That allowed him to see what she and the others were seeing, witnessing the siblings beat back the Horny Toads like they were nothing, though since there were far more on the other side he took a step forward once Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn dealt with the first wave of intruders, where he produced three items for them to take, which just so happened to be the weapon that he was here to sell to the colonists, which would serve as the start of a new line of Gadgetron weapons. What it was, as the siblings soon discovered, was a glove that fit over their right hand and allowed one to hurl small bombs at their enemies, and they were free for first time Gadgetron customers, where the siblings glanced at each other for a few seconds as they studied the weapons, as it was odd for them to be given such a thing and Starswirl figured it would help convince the colony to go with whatever Brooke and the Investor had discussed in the past, but decided that they might be better off not knowing all the details. Ratchet found that after he hurled one of his bombs at some of the Horny Toads, which knocked out a fair number at a time, there was a bit of recoil that could hurt anyone who used it, especially six year olds if they were given a weapon like this, something that caused Autumn to turn her attention to the spokesperson and asked about the schematics, as she might be able to figure out the problem and fix it for future Bomb Gloves, or maybe they could send out technicians to fix whatever was causing the recoil.

The spokesperson turned over his uplink a few seconds later, after speaking with his boss for a few seconds, and Autumn pulled up the official schematics while Ratchet and Starswirl focused on taking care of the remaining Horny Toads without using a weapon that might take their arms off or break something, though it didn't take her long to figure out where the weapon designers had gone wrong and corrected the schematics accordingly, but to make sure it worked she pulled her Bomb Glove off. Brooke and the others watched as she engaged her magic and the Bomb Glove seemed to break apart in a matter of seconds, as if her magic had dismantled the weapon, allowing her to see exactly what she was looking for and moved one of the components a little, just like she had done in the schematic, before bringing it all back together as the others watched as every piece slipped into place like nothing was wrong, where she called out to Ratchet for a moment, so she could switch his glove for the one she had been holding onto. With the switch made, and her brother had put on the modified Bomb Glove over his right hand, Ratchet headed out and flexed his fingers to summon a bomb, one that he was able to hurl at some of the Horny Toads without any sort of recoil or backlash, much to the surprise of the spokesperson who was watching them, especially since it worked like it was supposed to, something that was followed by the return of his uplink as Autumn fixed Ratchet and Starswirl's Bomb Gloves. As soon as her modifications were complete, and all three of them had working weapons that wouldn't hurt them when they used it, they went to work dispatching the remaining horde of Horny Toads with their wrenches, their new weapons, and their innate abilities, protecting the colony from them so they didn't have to worry about another attack in the near future, before finding that the Horny Toads that were left just departed from the area and went back to the part of Veldin that they lived in.

What they weren't expecting, however, was for them to be approached by the spokesperson not a few minutes later, while the three of them were resting after saving the colony from the horde, where they discovered that he had been speaking with his boss as all of this was going down and both of them were interested in Autumn's skills, as she was smart enough to find the flaw and had a way to correct it, all while appearing to be a schematic creator in her own right, so they had an offer for all of them. Autumn was being presented with an opportunity to join Gadgetron as a weapon designer, as in her schematics could be turned into weapons that everyone in the galaxy, who bought from the company, would use in their everyday lives, all while all three of them were going to be given memberships as well, both to Gadgetron, which earned them discounts on weapons and gadgets, and to the Guild, which seemed to be something akin to a bounty hunter when he explained it to them. The gist of the second offer was that they could take enemies down, such as the Horny Toads that they had just taken down or the pirates that attacked yesterday, and a member of the Guild would earn Bolts for doing it, so, for example, if they were to take down a group of attackers they would gain Bolts to buy all sorts of things, essentials and other things like candy, which instantly interested the siblings since it was something they needed, and the person in front of them confirmed that they would have their cards, for both organizations, in no time at all if they accepted what they were offering. In the end it took Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn no time in accepting the offer, even if it meant taking a bit of time signing a few places of the tablet that the person held out a few minutes later, legal documents that Brooke came over to look at so they didn't get cheated, not that she was going to accuse Gadgetron of cheating two powerful kids and their amazing warrior of a brother, but she found it to be acceptable and it convinced the siblings to agree, which she knew would provide them with the Bolts they needed to survive, and with their showing all of the colonists might have realized that befriending the siblings was the right way to go.

Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn smiled as they headed back to the center of the colony, as it seemed like things had turned in their favor all of a sudden, though they knew to keep an open mind as each of them kept their eyes on what the future had in store for them and the rest of their planet, even though they were setting their sights on eventually leaving Veldin, now that they had confirmation that other worlds existed, and exploring the galaxy, but for now they focused on growing up until all three of them were ready for such a thing.